1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of containment berms, and more specifically, to a containment berm with internal stays that is quick and easy to install and has no removable parts. The internal stays are coupled to a flexible, durable and chemically resistant material that forms the body of the berm.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most hydraulic fracturing rigs experience problems with the portable secondary containment berms that are used to contain spills from blender trucks (which blend and pump proppant slurry). The berms used under these trucks are typically designed with relatively short walls and are intended to contain all the hazardous chemicals blended, used, and sometimes leaked from the blender trucks.
One of the main problems with conventional containment berms is that the stay systems that support the walls of the berm are easily damaged and readily collapsible, allowing the hazardous material to leak out and contaminate the ground surface. In addition, most conventional berms require more than one person, to install Furthermore, to the extent they incorporate removable parts, these berms are more difficult to install and transport.
The present invention solves these problems by providing a system comprised of a series of strategically placed quick latch stays, each of which incorporates four different TEFLON® inserts heat-welded inside of a flexible and durable geomembrane material. The quick latch berm of the present invention is easily installable by one person and contains no removable parts.
Other types of containment berms use aluminum, lead, or steel bracing systems to provide rigidity to the berm; the problem with these types of systems, however, is that if the walls are driven over (by a truck) before they are properly lowered (which happens regularly), the metallic brace punctures the geomembrane material and creates a permanent hole requiring repair. After such an event, the metallic brace is permanently bent. Braces that are permanently bent are no longer of any use, and the wall in the damaged area becomes flimsy and flawed (partially collapsed). As a consequence, the berm is likely to be non-compliant with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
With the TEFLON® stay of the present invention, the berm wall can be driven directly over without properly lowering the walls, and no permanent damage will be done to the geomembrane material or the stay itself. The TEFLON® stay bends but does not break, even under extreme temperatures. After approximately fifteen minutes, the TEFLON® stay will revert back to its original shape. The TEFLON® material is hard enough to support the berm walls and structure as a whole but not quite hard enough to puncture the geomembrane material. As a result, the quick latch berm is always in good shape and safe and efficient to use even when mistreated.
Collapsed berm walls are caused not only by bent stays but also by hoses extending from the blender trucks. These hoses often weigh in excess of one hundred pounds and cannot be supported by a frameless wall design. To address this problem, the present invention provides an optional hose bridge that may be used with the quick latch berm to support such hoses. The hose bridges of the present invention are made by wrapping two large foam blocks in a liner material and then connecting the two covered blocks with a piece of liner material that is heat-welded onto the top of both blocks, leaving a gap in the middle. This gap in the hose bridge straddles the wall of the berm so that there is a geomembrane-covered foam block on either side of the berm wall. This configuration allows the crew members to lay multiple hoses on the hose bridge at one time. (Most conventional hose bridges accommodate only one or two hoses.) The hose bridge of the present invention can be made in any desired length. If the length of the hose bridge extends across one or more of the quick latches, then there is spacing between the foam blocks to allow the hose bridge to hug either side of the wall (see FIGS. 9 and 11, reference number 12b).
Examples of containment berms with relatively short side walls intended to contain leaks or spills from vehicles include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,461 (Shaw et al., 1999) entitled “liquid Containment Apparatus With Flexible Side Wall”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,243 (Marino, 2000) entitled “Spill Containment Receptacle for Use With Tank Transports”; and U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2012/0000914 (Barrett et al.) entitled “Fluid controlled Containment Berm System.” U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,330 (Olsta et al. 2010) describes a contaminant-reactive geocomposite mat for controlling contaminants in soil or water while at the same time allowing passage of non-contaminated water therethrough. None of these inventions provides the structural and functional advantages of the present invention, as discussed more fully below.